Cell phone pings narrow Colorado search for father and son

Search teams will resume their work today in a rugged area of the Colorado mountains for Damian McManus, 51, and Evan McManus, 18, of St. Louis Park. They pair has now been missing for one week.

The Denver Post reports that cell phone data has more narrowly defined the broad search area. Information gleaned from their last cellphone pings have given search teams a crude idea of where to focus their efforts.

KMGH, Denver's ABC affiliate added that cell phone data from the Air Force coordination center showed the last ping from one man's phone came at 3 p.m. Wednesday and the other phone last pinged at 7 p.m. It's unclear if the cell phone batteries died or if the phones were turned off.

While the cellphone data gave searchers an approximate starting point, they still don't know in which direction the pair may have hiked. Searchers were ferried into the area, at 10,600 feet of elevation and above, on Sno-Cats and snowmobiles. Rescue teams maneuvered on snowshoes and cross country skis because of recent snow in the area, which would have covered any tracks from the father and son.

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The McManuses have not been heard from since April 2. Search efforts began Sunday, and Damian McManus' car was found in a parking lot near Echo Lake. They came to Colorado for a father-son spring break trip and were due back in Minnesota on Sunday. Damian McManus' wife and Evan's twin sister took a mother-daughter trip to Mexico and returned Sunday; when they did not hear from the men, they reported them missing.

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The Facebook page set up to monitor the search said that McManus family friends and members of the community attended a prayer service Tuesday evening at St. Joan of Arc church in Minneapolis, which the McManus family attends.

A family friend told WCCO that Katherine McManus and her daughter Lauren, are comforted by the outpouring of prayers and support. They’ve been at the remote search command post in Colorado since Monday.